Branson and US officials dedicate space terminal

British billionaire Sir Richard Branson drinks champagne after rapelling down the side of the new Spaceport America hangar Monday, Oct. 17 in Upham, N.M. Branson dedicated the newly completed terminal and hangar on Monday, where his Virgin Galactic will stage its commercial space tourism venture.

Matt Rivera / msnbc.com

Hundreds of visitors take their seats inside the cavernous spaceship hangar at Spaceport America in New Mexico.

UPHAM, New Mexico — With his usual flare, British billionaire Richard Branson rappelled from a balcony, shook up a big bottle of champagne and took a swig while christening the world's first built-from-scratch commercial spaceport on Monday.

Branson's Virgin Galactic will stage its commercial space tourism venture from Spaceport America in a remote patch of desert in southern New Mexico.